Wie die Zeit vergeht

how time flies

Following the rhythm of nature, the three artists Florian Deeg, Georg Kästle and Torben Wessel interpret human perception of the environment. In the exhibition “Wie die Zeit vergeht” (“How Time Flies”), natural events are individually transposed into artificial settings, reflecting the moments that bring a sense of time into perspective and focussing on subjective human perceptions of vegetation and meteorology. These sensory perceptions are technically reproduced and placed in new contexts.

The rustling of leaves and tapping of raindrops can be heard through loudspeakers. They sensitive the listener to what is usually a passive perception of nature’s omnipresent acoustics. In contrast, the humming of fans and clicking of LED screens form an auditory by-product through their active imitation of nature. The boundaries of perception and reproduction are dissolved and the background noise is turned inside out.

Artificial light fluctuates like daylight, the changing environment evoking subtle reactions. It is not a natural instinct that is followed, but an artificial command. In an enclosed space underground, the darkness invites you to listen in. The treetops travel down into the ground with their roots. The light makes something that once was reappear and replicates the process of a withering orchid.

Fragments of nature are detached from time and place and connected together in a new way. Technology awakens the human relationship to nature, yet in doing so, does not make it concrete.

Imperceptibly, time flies.

Louisa Wombacher

Translated by Emma Wilson

Contemporary Art Library